U acts to promote
wrestling safety

U-M
wrestlers will no longer be allowed to use rubber suits and other
vapor-impermeable coverings. File photo by Bob Kalmbach

By Jane
R. Elgass

A task force convened following the death in December of
wrestler Jeff Reese has made seven recommendations to promote wrestling
safety.

Reese collapsed and died Dec. 9 while trying to lose weight for
a match the next day. He was wearing a rubber suit in a superheated room
while engaging in strenuous exercise.

Washtenaw County Chief Medical
Examiner ruled Reese's death accidental, and Washtenaw County Prosecuting
Attorney Brian Mackie found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the
21-year-old athlete's death.

"We established the task force to focus on
how we can make the sport safer," said Athletic Director Tom Goss in late
December. "With these recommendations, we have come up with steps we will
implement immediately. We wanted to do this quickly to make sure
something was in place before our student-athletes return to
competition."